Eschler Asset Management LLP Acquires Shares of 35,000 Vale S.A. $VALE

Eschler Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 35,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Vale by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 20,809,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,145,000 after acquiring an additional 9,103,727 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Vale by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,838,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,992,000 after acquiring an additional 66,896 shares during the last quarter. Surience Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,218,000. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 575.2% during the 4th quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 488,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,368,000 after buying an additional 416,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 117.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 116,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 62,600 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.77.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE opened at $15.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.38. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.97 and a 1-year high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,268.90. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 10,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,575.04. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Vale Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.